Automatic push button tape embossing machine

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for successively embossing characters onto a tape in response to depression of keys representative of the characters is described. The apparatus includes a rectangular keyboard and an embossing wheel having about its periphery an annular array of embossing dies corresponding to the characters to be produced. The embossing wheel is normally continually rotated during operation of the mechanism, and each of the keys has a stem which cooperates with a stop on the embossing wheel for interrupting the rotation of the wheel with the proper die positioned at an embossing station upon the depression of any one of the keys. A cam assembly is activated by the depression of one of the keys to then cause the character positioned at the embossing station to be embossed on a tape located at such station and also to advance the tape through the embossing station for appropriately spacing successively embossed characters.

United States Patent [1 1 Brown et al.

[ Aug. 21, 1973 AUTOMATIC PUSH BUTTON TAPE EMBOSSING MACHINE [75]Inventors: Milton Brown, Berkeley; Eugene W.

Beers, Lafayette, both of Calif.; Andre Nicole, Le Manoir, Switzerland[73] Assignee: Dymo Industries, Inc., Emeryville,

Calif.

[22] Filed: May 10, 1971 [2]] Appl. N0.: 141,643

Primary Examiner-Edgar S. Burr Attorney-Harris Zimmerman [57] ABSTRACTApparatus for successively embossing characters onto a tape in responseto depression of keys representative of the characters is described. Theapparatus includes a rectangular keyboard and an embossing wheel havingabout its periphery an annular array of embossing dies corresponding tothe characters to be produced. The embossing wheel is normallycontinually rotated during operation of the mechanism, and each of thekeys has a stem which cooperates with a stop on the embossing wheel forinterrupting the rotation of the wheel with the proper die positioned atan embossing station upon the depression of any one of the keys. A camassembly is activated by the depression of one of the keys to then causethe character positioned at the embossing station to be embossed on atape located at such station and also to advance the tape through theembossing station for appropriately spacing successively embossedcharacters.

17 Claims, 20 Drawing Figures PATENTEUAUEZI ma 3.753.482

suzu- 01 HF 11 INVENTORS MILTON BROWN EUGENE W. BEERS ANDRE NICOLE ATORNEY PAIENIEUAUGZI ma 3.753.482

sum 02 or 11 FlG 2 PATENTED M18 2 1 I975 saw on or 11 FIG 4 PATENTEDAUBZI ms 3,753,482 sum as or 11 PATENTED AUGZI I913 sum 01 nr 11 1 J W'H'n ll .lllllllllllll m QI minimum ms 3.753.482

sum as 11$ 11 FlG 1O FIG 11 PATENTEB A0821 I973 sum 10 0F 11 FIG+13PATENIEUAUBZI 1w 37533182 saw 11 or 11 FlG 17 AUTOMATIC PUSH BUTTON TAPEEMBOSSING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present inventionrelates to character embossing mechanisms and, more particularly, tosuch a mechanism enabling keyboard selection of characters for automaticembossing onto a base substance such as a tape.

Apparatus for forming letters or other characters on a base substance byembossing are becoming widely used. One of the more popular types isthat which includes embossing dies for forming letters on a tape madefrom a plastic material which changes its characteristic color uponbeing stretched. The apparatus forms the letters upon the tape bystretching the same with the embossing dies at the location at which theletters are desired. The resulting letters will not only be raised fromthe surface of the tape but also of a different color than thebackground color of the tape.

While tape embossing apparatuses of this type can now be found in manyhomes and small offices, commercial and industrial use of the same hasbeen limited. One of the primary reasons for their limited commercialand industrial use is that the apparatuses now available are relativelyslow in their operation. This is beenase in order to reduce costs andmake the apparatus relatively simple, most of such apparatuses have thedies for the various letters to be produced located around the peripheryof an embossing wheel. The embossing wheel is rotatable about its axisto enable selective positioning of a desired embossing die at anembossing station at which the substance to be embossed is located. Thenthe die at the station is activated to provide the desired embossedcharacter. The rotation of the wheel between the formation of successivecharacters is normally done manually. It will be appreciated that thenecessity of rotating the embossing wheel to properly locate the desireddie at the embossing station greatly adds to the time required for theembossing operation, especially if the desired die is located on theside of the embossing wheel periphery opposite to that of the die forthe previous letter.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is an automatic characterembossing apparatus which enables keyboard selection by the operator ofthe characters to be embossed and yet retains the advantages inherent inthe use of a rotatable embossing wheel. In its basic aspects, theapparatus includes, as is conventional, an embossing station and meansfor passing through the embossing station a base substance such as anelongated embossing tape upon which it is desired to emboss characters.An array of embossing dies corresponding to the individual characters tobe produced is also provided, as well as an array of depression keysrepresentative of such characters. As a particularly salient feature ofthe invention, it includes means which is associated with the array ofembossing dies for coaction with the stem of any depressed key to locatethe appropriate one of the dies corresponding to the character to beproduced at the embossing station. Thus, the die of the desiredcharacter is properly positioned at the embossing station by theoperator merely depressing the appropriate key.

Most desirably, the array of embossing dies are provided as a circulararray, such as on an embossing wheel as has been done in the past, andthe depression keys are arranged as a rectangular array. Such aconstruction enables simple keyboard operation by an operator while yetretaining the advantages of providing the dies in a circular array.

The apparatus of the invention preferably is also made to automaticallyprovide the complete embossing operation upon depression of the keycorresponding to the desired character. To this end, the array ofembossing dies are normally continually rotated when the apparatus is inoperation, and the positioning means is a stop which is associated withthe array of dies and which is engageable with the stem of any depressedkey to interrupt rotation of the array when the proper die is positionedat the embossing station. Means are provided for then automaticallyactivating the embossing mechanism at the embossing station to embossthe character on the base substance.

Means are also included for automatically advancing the base substance,such as the tape, through the embossing station either before or afterthe embossing operation to space apart successive characters. Mostdesirably, the mechanism for advancing the base substance includes meansfor sensing which key is responsible for the interruption of rotation ofthe die array and then advancing the base substance a distance whichcorresponds to the dimension of the character in the direction of travelof such substance. The result is that the spacing on the base substancefor each of the letters or characters is dependent on the size of thecharacter.

With one operation, therefore, i.e., depression of a key, theappropriate die is automatically positioned, the embossing operationconducted, and'the tape advanced. As will be appreciated from the moredetailed description hereinafter, the mechanism for automaticallyproviding these various operations is simple and fast, while yet beingquite reliable. Other advantages and features of the invention will alsobecome apparent from the more detailed description of the preferredembodirnent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With reference to the accompanyingeleven sheets of drawing:

FIG. 1 is an oblique perspective view of a preferred embodiment of anautomatic tape embossing apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 2 is another oblique perspective view of the apparatus illustratedin FIG. 1, showing the embossing station cover exploded away and thekeyboard assembly and the tape cartridge cover in open positions toreveal the embossing wheel and other elements of the apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a vertically exploded isometric view of the apparatus withportions broken away and removed to illustrate various componentsthereof;

FIG. 4 is a vertically exploded view of the keyboard assembly of thepreferred embodiment of the invention with details of all of the keyassemblies, except one, being omitted for simplicity;

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the keyboard assembly ofthe preferred embodiment taken substantially along a plane indicated bythe lines 5-5 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of the keyboard assembly with parts thereofbroken away at various levels to reveal underlying elements of theassembly;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary and simplified perspective view showing onetypical key of the keyboard assembly and its relationship, whendepressed, with the embossing wheel;

FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the preferred embodiment ofthe invention with parts broken away and removed for clarity;

FIG. 9 is a simplified bottom plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 withthe bottom cover removed to illustrate various elements thereof;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the embossing and tape advance camassembly and the slip clutch arrangement for integrating the camassembly onto the main drive shaft;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the tape cut-off cam assemblyincluding its slip clutch arrangement for integrating it onto the maindrive shaft;

FIG. 12A is an exploded isometric view of the major drive elements ofthe preferred embodiment of FIG. 1; and FIGS. 12B and 12C arecross-sectional views thereof taken on planes indicated respectively bythe lines l2B-12B and 12C12C;

FIG. 13 is a reduced isometric view of some of the components of theembodiment'of FIG. 1 responsible for initiating the tape advance andembossing mechanisms upon interruption of the rotation of the embossingwheel;

FIG. 14 is a reduced isometric view of the major drive elementsproviding embossing ofa tape at the embossing station;

FIG. 15 is a reduced isometric view of several of the elements of theembodiment of FIG. 1 providing advancement of a tape prior to a portionof it having a desired message being severed from the remainder of thetape;

FIG. 16 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially along aplane indicated by the lines l6l6 in FIG. 8 with certain portions brokenaway and not shown for clarity;

FIG. 17 is a vertical cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 16 taken on aplane indicated by' the lines 17-17 in FIG. 8 with certain portionsbroken away and not shown for clarity; and

FIG. 18 is a fragmentary view of the underside of the embossing wheeltaken on a plane indicated substantially by the lines 18l8 in FIG. 8 andillustrating a portion of the sensing means for indicating which key isdepressed and providing for advance of the tape a predetermined amountdependent upon the particular character to be embossed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Reference is first made to FIGS.l-3 for a general overall description of a preferred automatic tapeembossing apparatus of the invention. A rectangular casing, generallyreferred to by the reference numeral 11 and made up ofan upper main bodyportion 12 and bottom cover 13, is provided for housing the electricaland mechanical components of the apparatus. A keyboard assembly 14 ismounted on the top of casing 11 at a location at which access to thesame is facilitated. The keyboard assembly 14 is made up of a pluralityof rows and columns of depression keys 16 (only a few of which areshown) arranged in a rectangular array. Each of the keys 16 isrepresentative of one of the letters or, in a broader sense, charactersit is desired to emboss on a tape and, as is explained in more detailhereinafter, each key is arranged upon depression to initiate themechanism of the apparatus to locate the appropriate embossing diecorresponding to the depressed key at an embossing station andthereafter carry out the remaining action necessary to provideembossment of the character on the tape.

As can be seen from FIG. 2, keyboard assembly 14 is pivotally mountedadjacent its rear edge to the casing 11 by means of a piano hinge 17. Atape cartridge cover 18 is also pivotally mounted to the casing 11 via apivot pin 19, and both the key assembly 14 and cartridge cover 18 arenormally locked in their closed positions by latches 21 havingpush-button spring releases 22. When both the key assembly 14 and tapecartridge cover 18 are in the open position shown in FIG. 2, they revealcertain of the other mechanical components of the apparatus. Forexample, directly underneath the keyboard assembly 14 is a characterembossing wheel 23 which is mounted for rotation on a wheel drive shaft24. As is conventional in the tape embossing art, wheel 23 is providedwith a pluraltiy of dies for forming the desired characters on theembossing tape. More particularly, although not shown in great detail,it will be appreciated that as is conventional a circular or, morespecifically, annular array of mating die forms for the characters areprovided in opposed relation on the facing surfaces of upper and lowerembossing wheel rings 26 and 27, respectively, adjacent their peripheraledges. The wheel 23 is rotatable on shaft 24 to successively positionmating die forms for each of the characters at an embossing stationbeneath abridge 29.

Means are provided for passing an embossing tape on which it is desiredto form characters through the embossing station 28. To this end, acavity 31 is provided in casing 1 1 adapted to receive a standard taperoll cartridge from which embossing tape can be dispensed. A tape feedwheel 32 is provided with a roughened or ser rated peripheral edgesurface 33 for frictional engagement with tape from a cartridge incavity 31 to feed the same into and through a tape guide chute 34. Inorder to enhance the frictional engagement of the wheel surface 33 withtape, a pinch roller assembly 36 mounted within cover 18 spring loads apinch roller 37 against feed wheel surface 33 at a location at which itwill urge the tape into tight frictional engagement with wheel 32 (SeeFIGS. 2 and 8).

As is illustrated, tape guide chute 34 has a bridge portion passingbetween the upper and lower wheel rings 26 and 27 of the embossing wheel23 for guiding the tape therebetween to and through the embossingstation 28. The actual embossing operation at the station 28 is effectedby forcing the radial die leaf 35 of the lower ring 27 upward to matewith the female die of the upper ring to cause the mating die forms ofthe desired character to deform and distort the tape therebetween. Themeans for actuating the embossing does so automatically at the propersequence when a key is depressed and will be described in detailhereinafter.

In its general aspects, the apparatus of the invention also includesmeans for severing a length of the tape from the remainder thereof afterthe length has had desired characters embossed thereon. The cut-offoperation occurs at a cut-off station 38 located in the path of travelof the tape at a position after the embossing station 28. The cut-offoperation is initiated by depression of a cut-off initiation button orbar 39 which protrudes from the upper surface of casing body 12 adjacentits front end. Depression of bar 39 activates mechanism to besubsequently described to first advance the tape and then provide thedesired cut-off operation.

Means are also provided for advancing the tape a predetermined amountwhen desired to provide additional spacing between characters, such asto provide the spacing normally found between words. Such mechanismswill be described in detail later and are activated by the depression ofa space button or bar 41 protruding through the upper surface of casingbody 12.

It is sometimes desirable to be able to advance tape through theembossing station without having letters embossed thereon'and for agreater distance than that provided by the activation of the space"mechanism discussed above. Thus, means are provided for manuallyadvancing the tape any desired distance. For this purpose, a rotatablecontrol knob 42 projects from the front of casing body 12 and is mountedon the free end of axially rotatable rod or shaft 43 which is secured tothe center of tape advance wheel 32. It will be appreciated that withthis arrangement manual rotation of knob 42 will result in acorresponding rotation of wheel 32 and a consequent advancing of anytape in frictional engagement with such wheel.

As mentioned previously, one of the more important features of theinvention is the provision of a keyboard assembly emabling keyboardselection of a character to be embossed on the tape while yet retainingthe advantageous features inherent in the use of an embossing wheel tolocate the individual dies at the embossing station. This isaccomplished by providing a rectangular array of selection keys whichcooperate with the embossing wheel to properly position the selected dieat the embossing station. The positioning is preferably obtained bymounting the embossing wheel for rotation about its axis and, hence, theaxis of the annular array of dies thereon, and providing means fornormally rotating the wheel about such axis so that the dies passsuccessively through the embossing station. The keys include stems whichare engageable with a stop means associated with the embossing wheel tointerrupt rotation of the wheel when the die corresponding to thedepressed key is positioned at the embossing station. Then the tapeadvance and embossing mechanisms are automatically activated to providethe embossed character on the tape at the appropriate location.

In more detail, reference is made to FIGS. 8 and 9 for a description ofthe means for normally continually rotating the embossing wheel 23. Amotor 46 is enclosed within the casing for the apparatus to provide thepower for rotation of the embossing wheel as well as to power the othermechanisms of the apparatus. As is illustrated, power from motor 46 isdelivered via positive drive pulley 47 and positive drive belt 48 to adriven pulley 49 on a horizontal main drive shaft 51. Drive shaft 51 isjournalled for rotation in suitable bearings in support plates 52 and 53mounted vertically in casing 11. The end of drive shaft 51 in adjacentsupport plate 53 has a spur gear 54 rigidly mounted thereon which is inengagement with an idler gear 56. Idler gear 56 includes a beveled gearportion 57 in contact with a beveled gear 58 on the lower end of thevertical embossing wheel drive shaft 24. It will be seen that in view ofthis drive shaft and gear arrangement, power from motor 46 istransmitted to the main drive shaft 51 to rotate the same and then torotate embossing wheel drive shaft 24. Thus, whenever motor 46 isenergized, rotary power is transmitted to the embossing wheel to rotatethe same.

The keyboard assembly and its relationship to the embossing wheel isshown in detail in FIGS. 4 7. Such assembly includes a base and guidehousing 61 having an upwardly extending wall enclosure 62 defining arectangular cavity 63 for receiving other components of the keyassembly. In this connection, a key support plate 64 is spaced above thecavity bottom surface or guide partition 66 by lugs 67 and cooperatingbolts 68 and spacing collars 69.

The support plate 64 and the guide partition 66 cooperate to support andguide the movement of the individual keys of the keyboard assembly. Moreparticularly, each of the individual keys includes a push-button 71 fromwhich a stem portion 72 depends. The pushbutton portions 71 are arrangedin a rectangular array (see FIG. 4) above support plate 64, and the keystems 72 extend downwardly therefrom and through apertures 73 in plate64. The guide partition 66 is provided with shaped guide passages 74which receive correspondingly shaped end portions on the keys to guidetranslational movement thereof. As will be explained in more detailhereinafter, the guide passages 74 and the cooperating key end portionsare so shaped to provide a particular key end portion array correlatedto the location of the dies on the embossing wheel to assure that theproper die is located at the embossing station upon the depression ofany one of the keys. A compression spring 75 is also provided for eachkey, surrounding the stem 72 thereof and located between push-button 71and the support plate 64. Such springs act to normally maintain the keysin their non-depressed conditions.

Means areprovided for maintaining any depressed key in its depressedcondition. For this purpose, a spring loaded lock plate 76 is locatedbetween support plate 64 and guide partition 66. Lock plate 76 has apertures 77 through which the stems of all of the keys extend except forthose keys in the left hand row as viewed in FIG. 6. The lock plate 76is also provided with slots 78 which receive lug portions 79 on thespacers 67.

A pair of tension springs 81 are connected between one side of the lockplate 76 and tabs 82 depending downward from support plate 64. Suchsprings act to resiliently urge the plate 76 to the left as viewed inFIG.

As is illustrated, the apertures 77 are larger than the portions of thekey stems extending therethrough, and the slots 78 are elongated in thedirection in which the springs 81 tend to urge the plate 76. Theseaperturestem and slot-lug relationships facilitate slidable move ment oflock plate 76 relative to support plate 64 and guide partition 66 underthe influence of, and against the tension of, springs 81. Such springloading and slidable movement of plate 76 is utilized to maintain anyone of the depressed keys in its depressed condition. That is, as isbest illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 7, each of the key stems 72 includes aconical camming surface 83 which flares outwardly toward the push-buttonportion 71 of the key. Upon depression of any one key, the cammingsurface 83 thereof translationally displaces the lock plate to the rightas viewed in FIG. 6 against the pressure of tension springs 81. At theupper end of each camming surface 83, a cylindrical locking shoulcler 84is provided which is engageable by the lock plate after it has beentranslationally displaced by the camming surface. That is, the lockingshoulder is defined by a portion of the stem having a reduced diameterrelative to the camming surface which permits the plate to return underthe tension of springs 81 to the left and block return of the key to itsnon-depressed condition. Key 85 is depicted in both FIGS. and 6 lockedin such depressed condition. The depressed key will be maintained in itsdepressed condition by the lock plate until it is released. In thisconnection it will be noted that a release tab 86 extends downwardlyfrom the lock plate through a slot 88 in the base partition 66. Aftercompletion of an embossing operation tab 86 is engaged by an upwardlyextending ear 87 to translate the lock plate to the right as viewed inFIG. 5 and release the depressed key so that it can return to itsnon-depressed position. Ear 87 is motivated by means subsequently to bedescribed.

The manner in which depression of any one of the keys interruptsrotation of the embossing wheel 23 is best depicted in FIGS. 7 and 8. Asillustrated therein, the embossing wheel includes stop means extendingradially thereof. Preferably, such stop means is in the form of anelongated stop bar 91 which projects upwardly from the upper surface ofwheel ring 26. The stem 72 of each of the keys includes at its end astop portion 92 adapated to be placed in the path of the bar 91 upon thekey being depressed. As shown in FIG. 7, upon the bar coming intocontact with the stop 92 of the depressed key, the rotation of theembossing wheel will be interrupted. The angular position of the wheelwhen its rotation is stopped by any particular key is correlated withthe location on the wheel of the die forms corresponding to thecharacter represented by the key so that such die forms are located atthe embossing station. Thus, depression of any key acts to position theappropriate die of the die array at the embossing station for impartingthe character defined thereby on the tape.

As mentioned previously, one of the more salient features of the instantinvention is that it includes a rectangular keyboard assembly tofacilitate operation and yet retains an annular array of dies on anembossing wheel and its advantages. The manner in which the key stemsare designed to transmit information from the rectangular keyboardassembly to the wheel is best depicted in FIG. 6. The keys adjacent thecorners of the rectangular array have guide end portions adapted to ridein the key passages 73 through the guide partition 66, which guide endportions extend inwardly toward the center of the array. The stems ofthe remainder of the keys include guide portions which also properlylocate the end stops 92 thereon at appropriate locations both annularlyand radially of the path of travel of the stop bar 91 on the embossingwheel. While some of the key stems have their end stops or abutrnents 92axially aligned therewith as shown in FIG. 7, others have their endstops or abutments 92 horizontally offset from the axis of their stemsby means of offset portions 92' as shown in FIG. 6 that rigidly extendhorizontally between the lower end of the key stem and the abutment 92that will engage the stop bar 91. It will be appreciated then becausethe stop bar 91 extends radially of the embossing wheel, it sweepsthrough a fairly large area during its rotation with the wheel. Thus, byproviding with the key end portions a circular pattern which includeskey stern ends both radially and annularly at the path of travel of thebar, a large number of individual keys can be accommodated with only onestop bar being associated with the annular array of dies. In theparticular embodiment being described, a total of 56 character keys areprovided and are accommodated by an embossing wheel having a radius tothe annular array of dies of about 3 inches.

Interruption of rotation of the embossing wheel 2.3 by depression of akey not only results in the proper positioning of the appropriate die atthe embossing station but also initiates the remainder of the mechanismto effect the embossing of the character. More particularly, motion fromembossing wheel drive shaft 59 is normally transmitted to the embossingwheel 23 via a slip clutch assembly, generally referred to by thereference numeral 96 (FIG. 8). A wheel driver 97 on the slip clutchassembly rotates with the shaft 59 and is normally urged upwardly by acompression spring 98. Driver 97 has an upwardly extending driveprojection 99 which mates with a corresponding depression in the wheel23;to provide driving engagement between the wheel and the drive shaft.The drive projection 99 and its complimentary depression in the wheel 23are shaped with coacting cam surfaces so that when rotation of theembossing wheel 23 is interrupted by depression of a key, the wheeldriver 97 is cammed downward along the shaft against the compression ofthe spring 98 as the shaft 59 continues to rotate. This downwardmovement of wheel driver 97 is used to activate a tape advance andembossing cam assembly, generally referred to by the reference numeral101. Such cam assembly 101 is axially mounted on main drive shaft 51 andin its unactivated mode does not rotate therewith. However, a doublespring clutch assembly, generally referred to by the reference numeral102, and clutch release bail 103 (FIG. 13) are provided for integratingthe clutch assembly 101 with the shaft 51 upon downward movement ofwheel driver collar 97. That is, the clutch release bail 103 ispivotally mounted by a pin 104 to support plate 53 and has a projectinglever arm 106 on the end of which is a roller 107. As is illustrated,roller 107 is received within an annular groove 108 in driver 97.Because of this engagement of the roller 107 within the groove 108, uponvertical motion of wheel driver 97 on shaft 59, clutch release bail 103is made to correspondingly pivot about the axis 109 of pin 104.

Clutch release bail 103 has at its lower end an outwardly projecting ear110 which when the embossing wheel 23 is rotating and the wheel drive 97is correspondingly in its upward position is in contact with a radiallyextending lug or rib 111 on a feed drive sleeve 112. As can be seen fromFIG. 10, shaft 51 is free to rotate with respect to drive sleeve 112,and such sleeve is connected to one end of a clutch spring 113, theother end of which is secured to the cam assembly 101. Spring 113 iscoiled about a drive hub 114 which is pinned to shaft 51 for rotationtherewith and also about a collar portion 116, on cam assembly 101. Whenear 110 on clutch release bail 103 in in engagement with drive sleevelug 111, it prevents the drive sleeve and, hence, the cam assembly fromrotating with drive shaft 51. However, upon downward camming of wheeldriver 97 upon the depression of a key, the clutch release bail ispivoted about axis 109 to remove car 110 of drive sleeve lug 111 andthus allow rotation of the drive sleeve and cam with the drive shaft 51.In this connection, it is to be noted that upon such release, the clutchspring 1 13 engages both the drive hub 114 and the cam collar 116 tothereby positively transmit the rotary motion of drive lug 114 to thecam assembly. The cam assembly 101 then rotates one revolution with thedrive shaft 51 until ear 110 on the clutch release bail is again made toblock rotation of the feed drive sleeve by engaging the radial lug 111as will be described.

In this connection, clutch release bail 103 has at its lower rear end aroller 115 which follows radial camming surface 120 on cam 101. Afterinitiation of a clutch cycle cam surface 120 rises to hold the clutchrelease bail 103 in its activated position. This serves to relieve theforce necessary to maintain the driver in its lower position and to keepear 1 out of contact with the drive sleeve 114. Near the end of thecycle the clutch release bail 103 is allowed to return to its normalposition by cam surface 120 so that the wheel drive and the radial lug111 can reengage.

Means responsive to the beginning of rotation of the cam assembly byindexing and locking the embossing wheel 23 at the location at which itwas stopped are included. Such means therefore assures that the die ofthe desired character is properly located and held at the embossingstation during the embossing operation. For this purpose, and as is bestillustrated in FIGS. 8 and 13, an index lever 121 is hung from theunderneath surface of casing upper wall 122 by a pair of studs 123. Acam follower roller 124 projecting downward from index lever 121 ismaintained in engagement with a side cam face 126 on the main cam 127 ofcam assembly 101 by a tension spring 128 secured between the lever 12]and support plate 53. The index lever is connected to the studs 123 viaslots which permit reciprocal translation of the index lever in a mannerenabling the cam follower roller 124 to remain in engagement with camside face 126.

An arm 129 extends upward through casing wall 122 from the free end oflever 121 and terminates adjacent the periphery of upper wheel ring 26in an index wheel 131. Wheel 131 is adapted to engage within notches 132in the periphery of the ring 26 to lock the wheel in position. Moreparticularly, the side cam face 126 of cam 127 includes a depressedportion 132 within which the roller 124 rides soon after the cam 101begins rotating. This causes the index lever to be translationally movedin the direction making the index wheel 131 engage the appropriate notchin wheel ring 26 to lock and hold the embossing wheel at the appropriatelocation for the formation of the desired character at the embossingstation. it will be appreciated that after the embossing operation,i.e., near the end of one complete revolution of the cam assembly 101,the side cam face 126 causes movement of the lever 121 to the right asviewed in FIG. 8 to again remove the index wheel 131 from the notch sothat the embossing wheel can again be rotated by the drive shaft 59.

Between the embossing of different characters on the tape, the tape mustbe advanced through the embossing station so that the letters are notembossed one on top of another but rather side by side. The apparatus ofthe invention therefore includes means for automatically advancing thetape through the embossing station immediately after a letter isembossed on the tape. Moreover, it includes means for sensing whichcharacter is to be embossed and cocking" the tape advance mechanism tocontrol the distance through which it moves the tape to relate suchdistanct to the dimension in the direction of tape travel of thecharacter to be embossed. Thus, the characters of any character group onthe tape are individually spaced to give the grouping a type set"appearance. More particularly, as is best illustrated in FIG. 9, tapeadvance wheel 32 is connectable via a slip spring clutch arrangement 136to a bell crank 137 mounted for rotation on shaft 43. A sensing slide138 is mounted for reciprocation in a direction axially of main driveshaft 51 by studs 139 (FIG. 8) which depend downward from the underneathsurface of casing upper wall 122. Translational movement of slide 138 istransmitted to the bell crank 137 via a link 141 connected between thesame.

Sensing slide 138 is urged to the left as viewed in FIG. 8 by a tensionspring 142 connected between a depending tab thereon and the supportplate 53. The end of the slide furthermost from the tape advance wheel32 has a cam follower roller 143 which is in engagement with a cam face144 on the side of cam 101 opposite that on which cam face 126 for camroller 124 is provided. It will be appreciated that tension spring 142tends to maintain roller 143 in engagement with cam surface 144.

The sensing slide 138 has a sensing nose 146 projecting upward therefromthrough a slot 147 in casing upper wall 122. The upper end of nose 146is adapted to engage a stop ring 148 on the underneath side of embossingwheel 23. As is illustrated in FIG. 18, the outer periphery of stop ring148 is stepped so that portions thereof extend at varying radialdistances from the shaft 59. It will be appreciated that the distancethrough which the sensing slide 138 can be moved to the left as viewedin FIG. 8 by the tension of spring 142 will be limited by engagement ofthe nose 146 with the stop ring 148. The steps and depressions on suchstop rings are correlated with the particular characters on theembossing wheel such that the distance on the left through which thesensing slide can move is dependent upon the width of the characterpositioned at the embossing station so that successive characters areprovided with spacing therebetween consonant with their width.

Upon initiation of rotation of cam assembly 101 by depression of a keybutton representative of a character, the cam surface 144 against whichthe cam follower roller 143 on the sensing slide is urged by the spring142 allows the sensing slide to be moved leftward until such time as thenose 146 engages the embossing stop ring 148. During this movement, thesensing slide will rotate the bell crank 137 in the clockwise directionas viewed in FIG. 8. However, because of the spring slip clutcharrangement 136, this rotation of the bell crank will not be transmittedto the tape advance wheel 32. That is. as is best illustrated in FIG. 9,both the bell crank 137 and the embossing wheel have coaxial collarswhich meet between the two members and about which a spring 151 iswound. The direction of winding of the spring is such that when the bellcrank is rotated clockwise by the sensing slide as aforesaid, thediameter of the spring coils is enlarged somewhat so that the springdoes not transmit the movement of the bell crank to the tape advancewheel. However movement of the bell crank in the opposite direction willresult in a tightening of the coils of the spring so that it willfrictionally engage both the bell crank collar and the drive wheelcollar to transmit the motion of the bell crank to the tape advancewheel. A similar spring slip clutch arrangement 152 couples the oppositeside of the tape advance wheel 32 to a bearing block 153 but with thespring winding reversed so that the arrangmeent will act to assure thatthe tape advance wheel is not rotated by the bell crank when the sensingslide moves in the clockwise direction by allows it to be rotated bymovement of the bell crank counter clockwise.

The sensing slide is thus cocked, so that it can rotate the tape advancewheel and hence advance the tape a predetermined distance dependent uponthe particular character being embossed on the tape. However, the actualadvancement of the tape is not made to occur until after the embossingoperation.

To facilitate an understanding of the following description of the meansfor effecting the actual embossing, reference should be made to FIGS. 8,9, 12, 14, 16 and 17. The cam assembly 101 includes a separate cam 161secured to the cam 127 via studs 162 and whose purpose is to motivatethe embossing linkage generally referred to by the reference numeral 163(FIG. 14).

The embossing linkage 163 includes an angle crank cam follower 164 madeup of a pair of parallel angle crank pieces. The angle crank ispivotally mounted at the junction of its legs on a support shaft 166,and one leg 167 thereof has a cam follower roller 168 at its end forengagement with the periphery of cam 161. The other leg of the anglecrank 164 is connected by a tension spring 169 to the underneath surfaceof casing upper wall 122. The spring 169 thus tends to maintain thefollower roller 168 in engagement with cam 161.

An embossing link 171 consisting of two parallel link pieces pivotallyconnects the cam follower end of angle crank 164 with one end of anembossing lever 172 similarly made up of two parallel lever pieces. Asis illustrated, the opposite end of lever 172 is pivotally mounted on ashaft 173, and an embossing plunger assembly 174 is pivotally connectedto the lever 172 between its two lever pieces at a locationapproximately midway between shaft 173 and link 171.

The camming surface of embossing cam 161 is shaped to drive theembossing plunger 174 upward from a retracted position via linkage 163after the index lever 131 locks the embossing wheel into position andthe tape advancing mechanism is cocked. As best seen from FIG. 17, uponbeing driven upward, plunger 174 passes through an appropriate aperturein casing wall 122 and engages the leaf 35 of the embossing wheelpositioned at the embossing station to drive the same upward and matethe male die thereon with the corresponding female die on the upper ring26. This will cause embossing of the character defined by the die on thetape between the die forms.

A bridge piece 176 is located at the embossing station directly abovethe embossing ring 26 to backup the ring 26 and aid its resistance toupward flexing caused by the pressure of embossing plunger 174. As isconventional, the embossing plunger assembly 174 can be spring loaded toenable the plunger to resiliently give somewhat upon encountering aparticularly thick portion of embossing tape or thick portion of theembossing wheel.

As the cam assembly 101 continues to rotate, the camming surface onembossing cam 161 drops and the embossing plunger 174 is consequentlyretracted from the embossing position under the urging of tension spring169. It will be appreciated that at such time the embossing linkage isunder a heavily loaded condition due to the downward pressure providedby the embossing plunger. Because of such, the embossing linkage has atendency to drive the cam 161, and consequently the full cam assembly101, at a rate faster than that at which the motor is driving the shaft59. In order to overcome the overrun it is to be noted that a secondclutch spring 251 (FIG. 10) is provided around shaft 51 between it andthe interior circumference of drive sleeve 114 and cam assembly 101 atthe location at which they mate. One end of spring 251 is secured to cam101 and the other end is free. Upon overrunning of the cam, spring 251tightens on the shaft 51 to thereby secure it to the cam 101 andovercome such overrun.

At the completion of the embossing operation and as the cam assembly 101continues to rotate, the cam surface 114 on the cam 127 engages the camfollower 143 on the sensing slide and translates such slide to the rightas viewed in FIGS. 8 and 9. This will cause rotation of the tape advancewheel 32 via bell crank 137 and shaft 43 and consequently advancement ofthe tape a predetermined distance dependent upon the character embossedas discussed above. Continual rotation of the cam assembly 101 causes itto activate release means for translationally moving the key lock plate76 to allow the depressed key which initiated the embossing cycle toreturn to its nondepressed condition. More particularly, a pin 181projecting from the side of cam 127 engages an activating arm 182 on arelease lever 183. Lever 183 is mounted for pivotal movement about axis184 and its lever arm extends through casing upper wall 122 andterminates in the previously mentioned lever end 87 (FIG. 5) whichisengageable with the depending tab 86 on the lock plate. Engagement ofthe lever arm 182 by the pin 181 results in counter clockwise rotationof the index lever as viewed in FIG. 17 and consequent engagement oflever end 87 with tab 86 to translationally displace the lock plate 76to disengage the same from the lock shoulder 84 of the depressed key andallow the key to return to its nondepressed position under the force ofits compression spring 74.

As the rotation of the cam assembly 101 nears the end of its cycle, thecam face 126 thereof again rises to move the index lever 131 thereoffrom the periphery of embossing wheel ring 26. At approximately thistime, the wheel driver 97 on embossing wheel drive shaft 59 hascompleted about one revolution independently of the embossing wheel, andthe drive projection 99 thereof re-engages its complimentary depressionin the wheel. This couples the embossing wheel 23 to the drive shaft 59and allows the wheel driver 97 to axially move upward on shaft 59. Camsurface 120 drops to allow clutch release bail 103 to pivot abut itsaxis 109 and again bring bail ear into the path of sleeve lug 111 tostop the rotation of the cam assembly 101.

It will be appreciated that all of the various opera- I tions discussedabove are completed during only one revolution of the cam assembly 101and, hence, of the main drive shaft 51. Thus, the full embossingoperation taking place upon the depression of one of the keys can bemade quite fast. In one particular embodiment of the invention, the mainshaft 51 is rotated by the motor 46 at 144 revolutions per minute. Thisresults in the full embossing operation taking place within 0.41 secondsafter rotation of the embossing wheel 23 is interrupted by depression ofa key.

As mentioned generally before, it is sometimes desirable to advance thetape through the embossing station without embossing characters thereon.For example, one may wish to leave an unembossed space such as is foundbetween words formed with letters of the alphabet. The apparatus of theinvention also includes means for automatically advancing the tape apredetermined distance upon depression of the space bar 41. Withreference to FIGS. 3, 9, l and 17, the space bar 41 projects upwardlythrough the casing upper wall 122 from a box lever, generally referredto by the reference numeral 186. Lever 186 is pivotally mounted on apivot shaft 187 secured to the underneath surface of easing upper wall122 and has the drive shaft 43 for tape advance wheel 32 passing betweenthe legs 188 and 189 thereof. Upon depression of space bar 41, andconsequent pivoting of the box lever 181 on shaft 187, an ear 191extending inwardly from lever leg 188 engages a feed arm 192 which isjournaled for rotation on tape feed shaft 43. As is illustrated forexample in FIG. 9, feed arm 192 includes a collar portion 193 which ispart of a spring slip clutch arrangement for rotating a drive collar 194pinned to feed drive shaft 43. The spring 196 of the slip clutcharrangement transmits the rotary motion of the feed arm 192 to the drivecollar 194, and hence to the rod 43, to rotate the tape advance wheel 32and thus advance tape whenever the ear 191 engages and pivots the feedarm 192. However, such spring slips whenever the feed arm 192 pivots inthe reverse direction to return to its non-activated position. In thisconnection, a tension spring 197 is connected between the end of feedarm 192 opposite to that engaged by the ear 191 and a lower cross plate198 on the box lever to normally maintain the feed arm in itsunactivated position and return both it and the box lever to suchposition upon release of pressure on space bar 41. When it is desired toadvance a greater length of the tape through the embossing station thanthat advanced by depression of the space bar, the knob 42 directlysecured to the drive shaft 43 can be manually rotated as describedearlier to rotate the tape advance wheel 32 and cause it to advance thetape.

As mentioned previously, the apparatus of the invention also includesmeans for severing a length of tape on which characters have beenembossed from the remainder of the tape. To this end, a cutoff box leverassembly 201 on which cutoff bar 39 is mounted cooperates with a cutoffcam assembly, generally referred to by the reference numeral 202 toeffect engagement of such cam assembly to the main drive shaft 51 fordriving the various mechanisms which conduct the operations concernedwith the tape cutoff. More particularly, the box lever 201 is mountedfor pivotal motion on a shaft 200. Upon depression of cutoff bar 39, astop lever 203 on box lever 201 is pivoted upward out of engagement witha lug 204 on a drive sleeve 206 of a spring slip clutch for the camassembly 202. As can be seen from FIG. 1, release of the drive sleeveallows the clutch spring 207 to frictionally engage the outer surface ofa drive hub 208 pinnedto the main shaft 51 and transmit the rotationthereof to the cam 209 of assembly 201 in a manner similar to that inwhich the slip clutch arrangement for the embossing cam assemblyoperates. Thus, depression of the cutoff bar 39 integrates the cutoffcam assembly to rotate with main drive shaft 51.

Means are provided for advancing the tape through the embossing stationsufficiently to advance the last embossed character beyond the cutoffstation prior to the actual severing of the tape. Since normally thelast character embossed is located just one character space beyond theembossing station, this additional advance of the tape prior to thecutoff operation is necessary to assure that the cutoff portion of thetape includes the full embossed message. To this end, a cam followerroller 211 on the free end of an advance lever 212 is in engagement witha cam surface 213 on the outside face of cam 209. Advance lever 212 ispivotally mounted between its ends on a stud 214 (FIG. 8) depending fromthe underneath surface of casing upper wall 122. The end of lever 212opposite that having the cam follower 211, is pivotally secured to thedrive end of a push rod 216 which extends to a position adjacent thetape advance feed shaft 43. As is best illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 15,push rod 216 is secured in driving relation to a bell crank 217 which isjournaled for rotation on feed shaft 43. Bell crank 217 is coupled via aone way spring slip clutch 218 to shaft 43 for driving the same and thetape advance wheel 32 in a direction which will advance the tape. MOreparticularly, a clutch spring 219 is wound about both a bearing collar211 on bell crank 217 and a drive hub 223 pinned to feed shaft 43. Thedirection of the coil winding of spring 218 is such that upon push rod216 being translationally displaced toward the drive shaft 43, thespring is tightened about the bell crank collar to transmit the rotationof it to the drive hub 223 and hence to the tape advance wheel32..However, the spring slips on the surface of the bell crank collar218 whenever the push rod 216 is moved away from the drive shaft 43. Inthis connection, a tension spring 224 is secured between an car 226 onpush rod 216 and support plate 53 to urge the push rod in the directionaway from shaft 43. The spring 224 thus acts to maintain cam followerroller 21 1 on lever 212 in engagement with cam surface 213, as well asreturn the push rod to the unactivated position after the cutoff bar hasbeen depressed to begin the cutoff operation.

After advancement of the tape to move the last embossed character beyondthe cut-off station, the actual tape cut-off or severing operation isconducted by the apparatus. As is illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 16, thetape cut-off station includes above the location through which the tapepasses a knife blade 231 extending transversely of the tape. An anvilarrangement is designed to cooperate with the blade to effect thedesired tape cut-off. More particularly, a cut-ofi plunger 232 having ananvil 233 at its upper end extends through an aperture in casing guidewall 122 at the cutoff station and is vertically reciprocal therein. Acam follower roller 234 mounted for rotation by a pin 236 on a lower endof the plunger is in engagement with a peripheral cam surface 237 oncutoff cam 202. The surface 237 is designed to rise and cause verticalupward movement of the plunger assembly after the tape advancementdiscussed above. The plunger assembly is caused to move sufficiently farupward at the cutoff station that the anvil thereof cooperates with theknife blade arrangement to cut through any embossing tape therebetween.The severed piece of tape can then be removed from the apparatus throughthe aperture 238 in cover 29.

Continued rotation of the cutoff cam after the tape is severed retractsthe cutoff plunger assembly from its operative position. This occurssimultaneously with the return of the tape advance lever and push rodarrangement to its inoperative position after it has advanced the tapejust prior to the cutoff operation.

It will be appreciated from the above discussion that the variousmechanisms involved in effecting the tape cut-off operation are allactivated by the cut-off cam in one revolution of the cam. Because ofthe short time involved in such a revolution, the operator may stillhave the cut-off bar depressed near the completion of the fullrevolution of the cam. If the cam were to continue to rotate and operatethe various mechanisms, successive portions of the tape would beadvanced through the cutoff station and then severed from the remainderof the tape. Means are therefore provided for assuring that even thoughthe cut-off bar may be depressed near the end of the cutoff camrevolution, the cam is disengaged from the main drive shaft. This issimply provided by including on the drive sleeve 206 on the slip clutcharrangement for the cut-off cam a second, outer lug 239 which ispositioned at a location to engage the end of box lever arm 203 evenwhen the cutoff bar is depressed. Such engagement will, of course, stoprotation of the drive sleeve and thus disengage the cutoff cam from thedrive hub 208 on main shaft 51. If the cutoff bar is not depressed nearthe completion of rotation of one revolution of the cutoff cam, the arm203 will reengage the first described lug 204 to stop the rotation ofthe drive sleeve and disengage the cam from the shaft. It will beappreciated that the lug 239 is at a location at which it will be clearof the box lever arm 203 upon the initial angular rotation of the drivesleeve upon depression of the cut-off bar so that it does not hinder theproper operation of the cutoff arrangement.

It will be seen from the above that the apparatus of the inventionautomatically provides all of the major operations involved in embossingcharacters on a base substance in response to the simple depression of apushbutton or the like. Because of this, the apparatus is much easierand quicker to use than prior apparatuses of this nature, and makesfeasible the use of tape and base substance embossing apparatuses inmany commercial fields from which they have been precluded in the past.

While the invention has been described in detail in connection with apreferred embodiment thereof, it will be appreciated by those in the artthat many changes and variations can be made while retaining the spiritof the invention. Therefore, it is intended that the coverage affordedapplicant be limited only by the claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for embossing characters on a base substance comprising asupport structure, an embossing station, means for passing a basesubstance through said embossing station to leave characters embossedthereon, a generally circular array of embossing dies corresponding tothe individual characters to be produced, said dies being annularlyarranged and mounted for rotation together about the axis of saidannulus to pass said dies successively past said embossing station,

means for normally continually rotating said annular die array aboutsaid axis, a generally rectangular array of depressible keys mounted forgeneral vertical reciprocation in parallel rows and each beingrepresentative of the individual characters to be embossed respectively,said array of keys being positioned directly over and above said annulararray, each of said keys having an upper finger striking portion, adepending stem and abutment at the lower end of said stem rigidlyinterconnected, each of some of said keys having a horizontallyextending offset portion rigidly interconnecting with said stem betweensaid abutment and finger striking portion to transversely space saidabutment offset from said finger striking portions, said offset portionsbeing of different lengths and enabling said rectangular array of keystriking portions to select any desired one of said annularly arrangeddies, means responsive to the de pression of any one of said keys ofsaid rectangular key array for positioning the corresponding die of saidannular die array at said embossing station for embossing the characterthereof on said base substance, said last named means including a stopmeans carried by said annular array of dies for coaction with the stemabutment of any depressed key to locate the corresponding die of saidannular array at said embossing station, said stop means being directlyselectively engageable with the stem abutment of any depressed key tointerrupt rotation of said annular die array only when the die of saidannular array corresponding to said depressed key is positioned at saidembossing staton, said stop means further extending radially of saidannular die array for rotation therewith, and means for embossing thecharacter of the die at said station on said base substance.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said annular array of dies isprovided on a rotatable embossing wheel and wherein said meansresponsive to the depression of any one of said keys for positioning thecor responding one of said dies at said embossing station furtherincludes an indexing means engageable with the periphery of said wheelfor maintaining said array of embossing dies in a stopped condition withsaid corresponding die positioned at said embossing station during theoperation of said means for embossing the character of said die on saidbase substance.

3. The apparatusof claim 1 further including lock means for maintainingany depressed key in its depressed condition with its stem interruptingrotation of said annular array until completion of operation of saidmeans for embossing the character of said die at said station on saidbase substance said lock means including a spring loaded lock platethrough which the stems of said keys extend, each key stern having acamming surface for translationally displacing said lock plate againstspring pressure upon the depression of said key and a locking shoulderengageable with said plate after said displacement to provide saidmaintenance of said key in said depressed condition.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 further including a release means responsiveto the completion of the operation of said means for embossing thecharacter of the die at said embossing station on said base substancefor translationally displacing said lock plate to disengage the samefrom said lock shoulder of the depressed key to allow said key to returnto its non-depressed position.

1. Apparatus for embossing characters on a base substance comprising asupport structure, an embossing station, means for passing a basesubstance through said embossing station to leave characters embossedthereon, a generally circular array of embossing dies corresponding tothe individual characters to be produced, said dies being annularlyarranged and mounted for rotation together about the axis of saidannulus to pass said dies successively past said embossing station,means for normally continually rotating said annular die array aboutsaid axis, a generally rectangular array of depressible keys mounted forgeneral vertical reciprocation in parallel rows and each beingrepresentative of the individual characters to be embossed respectively,said array of keys being positioned directly over and above said annulararray, each of said keys having an upper finger striking portion, adepending stem and abutment at the lower end of said stem rigidlyinterconnected, each of some of said keys having a horizontallyextending offset portion rigidly interconnecting with said stem betweensaid abutment and finger striking portion to transversely space saidabutment offset from said finger striking portions, said offset portionsbeing of different lengths and enabling said rectangular array of keystriking portions to select any desired one of said annularly arrangeddies, means responsive to the depression of any one of said keys of saidrectangular key array for positioning the corresponding die of saidannular die array at said embossing station for embossing the characterthereof on said base substance, said last named means including a stopmeans carried by said annular array of dies for coaction with the stemabutment of any depressed key to locate the corresponding die of saidannular array at said embossing station, said stop means being directlyselectively engageable with the stem abutment of any depressed key tointerrupt rotation of said annular die array only when the die of saidannular array corresponding to said depressed key is positioned at saidembossing staton, said stop means further extending radially of saidannular die array for rotation therewith, and means for embossing thecharacter of the die at said station on said base substance.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein said annular array of dies is provided on arotatable embossing wheel and wherein said means responsive to thedepression of any one of said keys for positioning the corresponding oneof said dies at said embossing station further includes an indexingmeans engageable with the periphery of said wheel for maintaining saidarray of embossing dies in a stopped condition with said correspondingdie positioned at said embossing station during the operation of saidmeans for embossing the character of said die on said base substance. 3.The apparatus of claim 1 further including lock means for maintainingany depressed key in its depressed condition with its stem interruptingrotation of said annular array until completion of operation of saidmeans for embossing the character of said die at said statioN on saidbase substance said lock means including a spring loaded lock platethrough which the stems of said keys extend, each key stem having acamming surface for translationally displacing said lock plate againstspring pressure upon the depression of said key and a locking shoulderengageable with said plate after said displacement to provide saidmaintenance of said key in said depressed condition.
 4. The apparatus ofclaim 3 further including a release means responsive to the completionof the operation of said means for embossing the character of the die atsaid embossing station on said base substance for translationallydisplacing said lock plate to disengage the same from said lock shoulderof the depressed key to allow said key to return to its non-depressedposition.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 further including means forautomatically advancing said base substance a predetermined distancethrough said embossing station after operation of said means forembossing the character of the die at said station on said basesubstance, said advancing means including means for sensing which one ofsaid keys has been depressed and controlling the distance through whichsaid advancing means moves said base substance to relate said distanceto the dimension of the character at said station.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 5 wherein said base substance constitutes an elongated embossingtape and said means for advancing same through said embossing stationincludes a tape advancing wheel having a frictional circumferentialsurface for cooperation with a pinch roller to frictionally engage saidtape and drive same therebetween and through said embossing station uponrotation of said wheel, and said means for sensing which one of saidkeys has been depressed and controlling the distance through which saidadvancing means moves said tape includes a sensing slide connectablewith said wheel for angularly rotating same upon translational movementof said slide, said slide having a sensing nose engageable with steps ona stop ring which are correlated with the location of individual dies insaid annular array of dies to control the distance through which saidslide is translatable and annularly rotates said advancing wheel andthus advances said tape.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1 further inclusingmeans responsive to the interruption of rotation of said annular arrayof dies upon the depression of one of said keys for activating saidmeans for embossing the character thereof on said base substance at saidembossing station.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said basesubstance constitutes an elongated embossing tape and further includingmeans located in the path of travel of said tape beyond said embossingmeans for severing a portion of said tape having a desired character orcharacters embossed thereon from the remainder of said tape after saidembossing, and means responsive to the actuation of said tape severingmeans for first advancing said tape so as to position the last embossedcharacter thereon beyond said severing means and thereafter severing thetape.
 9. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein means are provided foradvancing said base substance through said embossing stationindependently of the interruption of rotation of said annular array ofdies, said means for advancing said base substance through saidembossing station including a feed wheel having a frictionalcircumferential surface cooperable with a pinch roller to frictionallyengage said substance and drive same therebetween and through saidembossing station upon rotation of said wheel, and said means forenabling advancement of said base substance independently of theinterruption of rotation of said annular array of dies including a driveshaft axially secured to said wheel and having a knob for manualrotation of said shaft and said wheel.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9wherein said base substance constitutes an elongated embossing tape. 11.The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said means responsive to tHe depressionof any one of said keys of said key array is responsive to saiddepression by both positioning the corresponding die of said array atsaid embossing station and thereafter activating said means forembossing the character of the die at said station to produce saidcharacter on said base substance said means responsive to the depressionof any one of said keys including a cam assembly activated by said keydepression to motivate an embossing linkage to drive an embossingplunger at said station to bring together the male and female portionsof the embossing die at said station to produce said embossed characteron said base substance.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11 further includinga slip clutch for integrating said cam assembly with a drive shaft forrotation therewith in response to the depression of any one of said keysto provide said activation of said cam assembly, and means for advancingsaid base substance a predetermined distance through said embossingstation, said cam assembly activating said means to so advance saidsubstance after motivating said embossing linkage to emboss saidcharacter on said substance.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein saidbase substance constitutes an elongated embossing tape and furtherincluding a cut-off cam assembly integrated with a drive shaft forrotation therewith in response to depression of a cut-off key to drive asevering means for severing a portion of said tape from the remainderthereof.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein said cam assembly uponbeing integrated with said drive shaft and activating said means foradvancing said tape advances the last embossed character thereon beyondsaid severing means prior to driving said severing means.
 15. Theapparatus of claim 12 wherein said array of dies is mounted on arotatable embossing wheel and further including an indexing meansengageable with the periphery of said wheel to maintain said array in astopped condition with said corresponding die at said emb0ssing station,said cam assembly motivating said indexing means to engage the peripheryof said wheel prior to activating said embossing linkage to therebymaintain said array in said stopped condition during operation of saidembossing linkage.
 16. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein said annularlyarranged dies are mounted on a rotatable embossing wheel for rotationtogether about its axis to pass said dies successively past saidembossing station, means are provided for normally rotating said wheelabout said axis, said means responsive to the depression of any one ofsaid keys for positioning the corresponding one of said dies at saidembossing station includes stop means on said wheel engageable with thestem of any depressed key to interrupt rotation of said annular arraywhen the die of said array corresponding to said depressed key ispositioned at said embossing station, and a spring loaded lock plate isprovided through which the stems of said keys extend for maintaining anydepressed key in its depressed condition with its stem interruptingrotation of said annular array, said cam assembly motivating a releasemeans to displace said lock plate to release any depressed key aftermotivating said embossing linkage to produce an embossed character onsaid base substance.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein there is onlyone said radially-extending stop means associated with said annular diearray for engaging the key abutments.